Release of Our Hymn to His Holiness the Dalai Lama on His 80th Birthday, from Global Chinese Community https://youtu.be/HvktwPVkjHY Today marks the 80th birthday of His Holiness, the Dalai Lama, our great messenger of human peace, and the spiritual leader of Tibet. To express our respect and love for His Holiness, and help more Chinese better understand Tibetan culture, religion, political and economic situation of today’s Tibet, and its historical truth, we at Initiative for China, a.k.a., Citizen Power for China, have initiated a video project in congratulations to His Holiness, since this June 27 Our aim is to better understand the middle road proposal by His Holiness in order to solve the Tibetan issue, on the basis of peace and benevolence through dialogues between Han Chinese and Tibetan people. Now we are proud to announce a collection of...

Ninth InterEthnic/InterFaith Leadership Conference Held In Taiwan Reported by Citizen Reporters: Duan Chao, Cao Jie, Li Zhong and Li Xuemei Organized by Initiatives for China/Citizen Power for China, the Ninth Interethnic / Interfaith Leadership Conference was held in Taiwan from April 24 through April 27. The four-day conference gave training to nearly 100 people in nonviolent resistance, with attendees including Chinese, Mongolians, Tibetans and Uyghurs residing in various region of the world, including Hong Kong, Mainland China, Macau, Taiwan, Dharamsala of India, Mongolia, Japan, North America, Australia and Europe. The diverse attendees hold beliefs such as Buddhism, Christianity, Falungong, Islam, and other faiths. Since its inception in 2000, this is the ninth Interethnic / Interfaith Leadership Conference. It aims to promote understanding and cooperation among people of different ethnicities, religions and regions. It also aims to promote tolerance and friendship,...

At the start of his 10 day trip to Europe, Dr. Yang Jianli, President of Initiatives for China (Citizen Power for China), met Lord Alton in the Upper House of the UK Parliament. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss human rights issues in China, including the rising number of self-immolations in Tibet and the imprisonment of Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Liu Xiaobo. Parliament Member Lord David Alton is a crossbench member of the Upper House of Parliament. Lord Alton has a long history of defending human rights. In 2008, after the British Olympic Association forced British athletes to sign a contract promising not to speak out about China’s human right issues, PM Lord Alton stood up and defended the athletes’ freedom of speech. He condemned the move as “making a mockery” of the right to free speech....

On November 16-18, 2012, Initiatives for China/Citizen Power for China, led by President Dr. YANG Jianli and Vice President Dr. HAN Lianchao, participated in the Special International Meeting of Tibet Support Groups, which was held in Dharamsala, India. The meeting was attended by nearly 200 participants from 43 different countries. The main focus of the meeting was to develop strategic campaigns and address the deteriorating situations in Tibet, where, as of today, at least 81 Tibetans have been confirmed to have self-immolated. At the Opening Session, Sikyong Dr. Lobsang Sangay welcomed the participants with a keynote speech. Sikyong Dr. Lobsang Sangay said that “Tibet is a litmus test for China and the world” and “by supporting Tibet, the international community will clearly show what they stand for. Sikyong Dr. Sangay Sangay stated that the meeting sends a message...

Dear All, Initiatives for China (Citizen Power for China) is launching this letter campaign urging the Speaker of the US House of Representatives to expand Magnitsky Bill to invoke a travel ban against serious violators of human rights across the world, freeze any U.S. assets they may possess and publish their names. The original Magnitsky Bill targets only Russia. Please join us in this effort to promote human rights situation globally by signing your organization’s name on this letter. (Please sign this letter by replying to dcoffice@initiativesforchina.org) Please see proposed letter below: The Honorable Speaker Boehner United States House Washington, D.C. 20515 September 7, 2012 Dear Mr. Speaker, As you prepare for the House to take up a bill to extend Permanent Normal Trade Relations (PNTR) to Russia, we strongly urge you to support the Senate version of the legislation that includes...

The Danish Centre for Political Studies (CEPOS) awarded the Freedom Prize 2011 to Dr. Yang Jianli for his tireless efforts to promote human rights in China. Dr. Yang Jianli holds two Ph.D. degrees from Harvard and the University of California and is the founder of the pro-democracy organizations, Initiatives for China and the Foundation for China in the 21st Century. Dr. Yang Jianli was born in northern China and graduated from Beijing Normal University at the age of 19. A rising star in the Chinese Communist Party, Jianli quickly became disenchanted by the corruption and duplicity in the communist system. He left China to pursue a career in Mathematics at U.C. Berkeley. In 1989, his fellow graduate students at Berkeley elected him to go to Beijing in support of their counterparts who were demonstrating for democracy in Tiananmen Square....

By: YANG Jianli April 30,2012, Copenhagen I am both humbled and invigorated to be honored as the recipient of the 2012 Center for Political Studies Freedom Award. I understand that this prestigious award recognizes individuals who demonstrate a “principled and steadfast commitment to the values and ideas of individual freedom and basic human rights.” Although I stand here before you as your honoree, in MY eyes, I see in front of me, the faces of my brothers in China, my fellow freedom fighters in Burma, Cuba, Egypt, Iran, North Korea, Syria, Vietnam and other closed societies around the globe whose lifework and whose very willingness to shed their life’s blood, each and everyday, make each of them so more deserving of this recognition than I. It is only with this acknowledgement that I can accept this award. I am invigorated with...